NEIL MCGLADE

Hearts Ladies boss Grant Scott admits his team couldn’t have faced a more difficult run-in as they approach the climax to the SWPL 2 season.

The Jambos are involved in a three-horse race for the league title with the prize of promotion to Scottish women’s football’s top tier up for grabs.

With just three fixtures remaining, Scott’s side sit second in the table, level on points with leaders Hamilton, who they play tomorrow at New Douglas Park. Glasgow Girls are also tied on 42 points and Hearts play them in their penultimate league fixture, with a home game against Hutchison Vale being their final game.

“We’re all on the same points with both teams to play so we couldn’t have had a more difficult run in,” Scott said. “To win the league you’ve got to beat to everybody else so at this stage is just about winning games.

“If you had given us this option at the start of the season then we would have bitten your hand off. We’re delighted where we are but we know that any one of the three could win it. I suppose the league table doesn’t lie.”

Sandwiched in between those season-defining fixtures, there is also the small matter of a Scottish Cup semi-final clash with Capital rivals Hibs Ladies.

“It’s a real glamour game for us, make no mistake about that,” Scott admitted. “The league is obviously our main objective but we’ve never got to the semi-final stage of the Scottish Cup so the girls have made a wee bit of history there.

“It’s a wee bit different from the men’s side of things. We’re actually very close and friendly with Hibs as I work with a couple of their coaches so we couldn’t really have hoped for a better opponent at this stage of the competition. It’s a massive game, a huge challenge and you only have to look at the level from midweek that they’re performing at to know how tough it is going to be.”

Elsewhere, Hutchison Vale are at bottom side Queens Park tomorrow.

Hibs host Celtic at Albyn Park in SWPL 1 just 24 hours prior to jetting off to Germany for their Champions League Round of 32 second-leg clash with Bayern Munich on Wednesday. Spartans welcome Stirling University to Ainslie Park.